Sports fan. Connoisseur of good music (especially on vinyl). Consumer of the finest craft beers. Environmental activist. History geek. Dudeist Priest. Hunter S. Thompson junkie. And I write a little. Mostly though, I’m a dad. But I am unlike my dad. I am still the breadwinner, but laundry, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, hugging, crying, disciplining and nurturing are also part of my routine. I am a domestic machine…I am, like many dads of my generation, The Domestic Warrior.

Saturday, November 4, 2017

O Say Can You See

As published in The County Times (countytimes.somd.com)

By Ronald N. Guy Jr.

It first appeared in this column in June with the
nefarious reasons behind Colin Kaepernick’s unemployment. It reappeared, either specifically or by
gentle reference, in the last two entries.
“It” isn’t a deranged, sewer-dwelling clown but rather the various forms
of protest/unity expressed during the national anthem before NFL games.

The evolving topic returns again, here, just a few
days before Veterans Day and a couple weeks before the holiday season – a time
for peace and togetherness – because it remains an intriguing and important
confluence of sports, politics and society.

It also reappears because it remains unresolved: over
a year after Kaepernick’s first actions, we are still wrestling with the
original intent of his protest – racial injustice – and new tangential issues –
be they organic or intentional diversions – such as whether protests are
disrespectful and if the NFL can force players to stand (as Dallas owner Jerry
Jones threatened).

The wound continues to ooze, of course, because the socially
inept NFL chose first to ignore what it hoped would wither away. It then colluded, consciously or
unconsciously, to freeze Kaepernick, the primary instigator, out of the league
(my opinion). When that failed and
protests escalated to team demonstrations, owners begrudgingly, and in some
cases disingenuously, participated in pre-game expressions of unity. And when that didn’t prompt everyone to stand
and ignore the gap between our Declaration, our Constitution and what many American
minorities experience on a daily basis, a select group of NFL owners and
players met to discuss the issue.

That’s right…roughly 14 months after Kaepernick first
sat during the anthem last season, the NFL decided it was time to unclench its
fist and listen to its players’ concerns.
And they didn’t even do that well: the unconscionable comments by Texans
owner Bob McNair (“inmates”) and Washington owner Dan Snyder (96% are opposed
to protests) indicate a mindset and an insulated perspective that perpetuates the
societal flaws that originally inspired Kaepernick’s protest.

For those annoyed by what they perceive as
un-patriotic or disrespectful protests, I wonder how many have argued against
encroachments on the Second Amendment while indirectly supporting convenient limits
on the First and Fourth. I wonder how
many have embarrassingly chanted “O!” at Orioles games or take no issue with
Kansas City fans yelling “Chiefs” in place of “brave” as the anthem has played.

For those angered by the players’ actions, I wonder
how many have researched the thoughts of players like Kaepernick to gain an
understanding of the experiences that caused them to take a knee. I wonder how many are white, exist in world
where they’re almost always part of the majority and if they’ve contemplated life
as a minority – be it at work, when applying for a loan, during a traffic stop
or just sitting down in a restaurant for a meal. I wonder how many have considered their own
shortcomings, even if they are limited to unintended biases.

Don’t we owe our fellow Americans at least that? In short, shouldn’t we be searching for ways
to solve the problems that caused NFL players to kneel rather than ordering
them to rise or shaming them – through some mischaracterization of their
protest – into standing?

Senator Margaret Chase Smith delivered her
“Declaration of Conscience” speech on the Senate floor in 1950. In it she speaks of poor leadership, rails
against critical elected officials too thin-skinned to take criticism in-kind
and govern, laments our country being psychologically divided by confusion and
suspicion and reminds her colleagues of these “basic principles of
Americanism”: the right to criticize, the right to hold unpopular beliefs, the
right to protest and the right of independent thought.

Smith’s speech is a brilliant summation of our
American identity, rights and the responsibility we have to exercise those
rights to ensure the equal extension – in practice, not just words - of
Constitutional liberties. Despite its
age, it offers sage advice on how to navigate NFL anthem protests and these
most divisive times. And because of its
age, it stands witness to Colonial Williamsburg’s iconic slogan: “That the
future may learn from the past.”